Homemade Vanilla Extract

When my mother in law called me and told me that I could make Vanilla Extract myself and that it's cheaper than buying it a the store, I knew I totally had to give it a try!!! I had been complaining to her about how much it is to buy it in the store and how I go through so much of it! 

And it's so easy to make!! 

1. 1 cup vodka, bourbon, rum or brandy although vodka is the preferred one 
2. 3 whole vanilla beans (from what I've read, the Madagascar ones of the favored ones to use)

Slice the vanilla bean in half length wise and add it to a cup of vodka and let it sit for 2 months. Every week or so, turn the bottle gently to mix it a bit.

I just started mine last week so I'll post again in 2 months with the final product! The long it sits, the darker it will become and turn into actual vanilla extract just like you buy at the store! 

You can use a more decorative bottle to store it in or give it as a gift! As long as this turns out like I'm hoping it will, I plan on making more and giving it out as Christmas gifts to our family along with mint extract I plan on doing as soon as the mint in my garden is ready!! 

You can buy vanilla beans online cheaper than what I found bought mine for, here at this website. 

I found these vanilla beans at Whole Foods for less than $5

Day 1

1 week later

Coupon Tip: Check for size restrictions on coupons!

Always check your personal care item coupons for size restrictions, if it doesn't say "not valid on trial/ travel sizes" or doesn't have a liquid/ weight on it then you're in luck!

A lot of times, it's a really easy way to score free trial or travel sized goodies! I can't even begin to count the number of free deodorants, toothpaste, shampoo and more I've gotten for free just by doing this!! I get the majority of these at Walmart and Target.

These coupons are becoming more and more rare but when you see them, jump on the chance!!

Couponing Tip: Find your stock up price for everything!

Another tip I have for those of you that really want to get into couponing is to have a stock up price for items when you go to buy them. Now that I have my stockpile in our house, I only buy things when they're on sale, I have a coupon for them, and they're at the "stock up" price.

Obviously anything I can get for free, even if I don't need it, I get it. I either give it to a family member or friend that can use it or I donate it to our church.

Things that I get for free that I will never buy again as long as I'm couponing:

• Toothpaste
• Toothbrushes
• Deodorant
• Body wash
• Lotion
• Shampoo/ conditioner
• Air freshener

A few good examples of stock up prices for me:

• Paper towels $.35 a roll or less
• Toilet paper $.01 per sq ft or below
• Tissues/ Kleenex $.30
• Name brand household cleaners $.99
• Laundry detergent (Purex or Ajax) $.99
• Ziplock bags $.50 a box
• Diapers/ Pull Ups (Huggies) $4 per pack 
• Shaving cream/ gel $.25
• Mouthwash $.75
• Ketchup $.88
• Mustard $.40
• Cereal $.50 
• Salsa $.50
• Coffee creamer $.40
• Greek Yogurt $.40

Couponing Tips & Tricks: Check clearance racks!

One of the best ways to score free or extremely cheap makeup, hair dye and other personal care items with coupons at Target, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid is to check out their clearance racks!!

At these stores you can use a coupons on a clearance items and many times get them for free or for very close to it!!

Whenever a  manufacture changes the design of one of their labels, the item with the old label gets put onto clearance!!

I haven't paid for hair dye for about 1 1/2 years due to this trick!!

I've also scored TONS of free makeup especially at Target! In addition to using manufacture coupons there, you can stack them with Target coupons you can print from Target's website.

Check back soon for even more couponing tips & tricks!!

Couponing Tip: Using a binder to keep yourself organized!!

One of the most important tips I have for someone that's interested in getting hard core into couponing is to keep your coupons organized and don't get rid of ANY of your coupons until they've expired!

I prefer clipping all my coupons and keeping them in a binder, although during the holiday season, I found it VERY hard to keep up with.

I have my zipper binder divided into 4 sections: health  & beauty  household, refrigerated  frozen foods, and shelf stable foods. Then within those sections I have pages with just the certain items: deodorant  soap, toothpaste, hair products, ect...

I use baseball card sleeves for the smaller coupons and currency sleeves for the long coupons. You can buy the sleeve pages online on Amazon, eBay and in stores like Walmart and Target where the baseball cards are located in the store.

I also keep a pencil case (that I use for loose coupons), pens, pencils, post-it notes, highlighters, a pair of scissors. and a calculator in my binder as well. I also bought a binder that has a filing area in it so I can keep m favorite stores' weekly ads in it!

I typically buy 4-8 papers a week depending on how many inserts are in that week's paper. If there is a certain coupon I want more of, then I order extras either from a coupon clipping service or from eBay.

When I go to clip my coupons, since I have multiple inserts from all the papers I buy, I stack all the same pages together, so the same coupons are on top of each other in piles. Then I staple the pages together, but just make sure the coupons line up exactly together or you may cut into the bar codes or the expiration date! Also, make sure you don't staple through the bar code, this may make the cash register not able to scan the bar code!

If you cut off the expiration date on any of your coupons, the stores will not be able to accept your coupon with the missing expiration date on it!!

Also a huge help if you find yourself overwhelmed with cutting all the coupons with scissors, you can always order a paper trimmer.

Then file your coupons into their proper page in your binder!!

Enjoy and welcome to the world of couponing!!!

*check back soon for even more couponing tips & tricks!!!